New hires at Merceds-Benz in Latin America

Mercedes-Benz do Brasil will create over 1,250 new jobs at Latin America’s largest manufacturer of trucks and buses - the facility located at São Bernardo do Campo, near São Paulo. Production of trucks and auxiliary equipment at the site will further be expanded to include a third shift. In addition to Brazil, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Argentina will be adding 300 new employees to increase commercial vehicle production.

Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has been operating in Brazil for 55 years, and now it is hiring over 1,250 new employees for the assembly plants in Brazil and Argentina. Hubertus Troska, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Europe/Latin America: “We are currently recording high growth rates in Brazil and Latin America. Our sales numbers are developing superbly, and our commercial vehicles production is running at full capacity.

Last year we sold 162,000 trucks over six tons GVW in Brazil, and the sales figure for this year will be even higher. We expect our market volume there to exceed 200,000 units by 2020. We want to have a full share in this positive market development, and the hiring of the new employees will help us to do so.”

The need for transport in Brazil and Latin America is growing every day due to the strong economic development in the agricultural sector, in mining, and in the construction industry thanks to infrastructure contracts for government programs. And that is also boosting demand for trucks. Mercedes-Benz do Brasil is therefore adjusting its production capacities in Brazil in line with these developments. Most of the new employees will be assigned to the production of trucks and auxiliary equipment at São Bernardo do Campo (São Paulo).

“As the biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in Latin America, Mercedes-Benz is aiming to further increase its competitiveness in the region. The company has therefore decided, for the first time in its history, to institute an entire third shift for manufacturing trucks in Brazil, which has resulted in more than 540 new hires to be dedicated solely to this new shift,” reports Jürgen Ziegler, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil and CEO for Latin America. “These new hires are helping us to exploit the technical capacity to produce 75,000 commercial vehicles in Brazil in 2011. With this step we are responding to the growing demand for commercial vehicles in our region. Our goal is to further strengthen the market-leading role of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles in Latin America,” adds Ziegler.

With the new hires Mercedes-Benz do Brasil is increasing its workforce at the São Bernardo do Campo (São Paulo) location and in Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais) to a combined total of more than 14,500 employees, thus confirming its position as the biggest employer among the commercial vehicles companies in Latin America.

Mercedes-Benz is also boosting its competitiveness in the Argentinean market and reacting to the increased demand by expanding commercial vehicle production at the plant in Argentina and adding 300 jobs. A total of about 1,800 people will then be working at Mercedes-Benz’ Juan Manuel Fangio plant in Gonzalez Catan. Mercedes-Benz Argentina is manufacturing the Sprinter in a second shift as of August this year and has also began producing trucks in May this year. This higher capacity is a result of the National Program for Renewal, which was introduced this year by the government in Argentina. The program ensures that transport companies have access to credit at attractive rates for purchases of new commercial vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz is Latin America’s biggest manufacturer of trucks and buses

Mercedes-Benz do Brasil is the biggest truck and bus manufacturer in Latin America. Its São Bernardo do Campo plant is Daimler’s biggest outside of Germany and the only one where trucks, bus chassis, auxiliary equipment — including engines, transmissions and axles — and truck cabs are produced at a single location.

The Mercedes-Benz Technology Center at the location, which is the largest, most modern research and development center for trucks and buses in Brazil, is enabling Mercedes-Benz do Brasil to further expand and improve the future line-up of products for Brazil and Latin America.

Investments in commercial vehicles

Last year Mercedes-Benz do Brasil announced an investment of approximately R$1.5 billion (about €650 million) in the plants in São Bernardo do Campo and Juiz de Fora, as well as in the development units of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil for the period between 2010 and 2013, with the purpose of significantly increasing production capacity.

The capacity at the largest, most advanced production facility in Brazil will thus be increased to 75,000 units per year, which corresponds to an increase of about 15 percent.

In addition, the Mercedes-Benz location in Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais) became part of the worldwide Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles production network. And, starting in early 2012, Mercedes-Benz trucks in the Actros MP3 production series and the Accelo will be produced at the plant for the Latin American market in order to fully exploit future growth potential.